Al Green (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Al Green is a retired naturalised Australian professional basketball
player originally from the United States
who played his career in the Australian National Basketball League
from 1981 until his retirement in at the end of 1993.
, Al Green and grew up playing basketball with future NBA All-Star player Bernard King
. He attended Maine Central HS following which he attended Arizona Western Junior College. He then switched schools and went to North Carolina State University
where he was a member of the NC State Wolfpack
before again moving one last time to Louisiana State University
to play for the LSU Tigers
. During his college career for NC State and LSU Green would come up against the likes of future NBA Hall of Fame players Moses Malone
and Magic Johnson
.
as a Defensive Back by the San Diego Chargers
, despite never having played football. The choice was made primarily on Green's speed and jumping ability. Green and his agent spoke to the Chargers but despite the money he was being offered by the Chargers he decided that he wanted to continue playing basketball.
where he lives to this day (2011). He signed to play for the West Adelaide Bearcats
in the NBL from the 1981 season
and made an immediate impact. In his first season he helped the Bearcats to a third place finish and was selected to his first All NBL First Team
.
The 1982 NBL season
saw Green continue with the Bearcats who made the NBL Grand Final against the Geelong Supercats
. West Adelaide would won their only NBL championship winning 80-74 at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium
. Green had a supreme season in his second year in Australia and was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player
in 1982 but controversially was left out of the All NBL First team. It was the first of so far three times that the league MVP has not been selected in the All First team (Owen Wells
in 1983 and Joe Hurst in 1988 being the others).
Green had established himself as the premier guard in the NBL and in 1984 set scoring records in the league that still stand. He scored a league record 71 points in a game against the Frankston Bears shooting 26 from 44. He also scored 60 points and 59 points in other games through the 1984 season on his way to a league leading 39.5 points per game in 21 games played despite the Bearcats finishing 11-13 for the year. His 39.5 points per game in 1984 is the second highest average ever in an NBL season, beaten only by Andrew Gaze
of the Melbourne Tigers
in 1987 who averaged 44.1 points.
In 1985 West Adelaide pulled out of the NBL and some players from the Bearcats, including Al Green and former Aussie Boomer Ray Wood, joined the Adelaide 36ers
as Adelaide's only team in the NBL. The 36ers, coached by the Bearcats 1984 coach Ken Cole, included players such as Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce, team captain Peter "Pa" Ali and import players in 6'9" (206 cm) centre
Bill Jones and rebounding sensation Mark Davis
, finished the regular season second on the ladder and after a record 151-103 win over Newcastle in the Semi-Final were into the NBL Grand Final where they faced the Brisbane Bullets
on the Bullets home court
. Unfortunately for Adelaide, Al Green was held to 15 points and fouled out of the game as the Bullets won 120-95. As he was fouled out, Green, who had always been an emotional player, reacted to a taunt from Bullets player Larry Sengstock
and threw the ball at Sengstock's head, giving away a tech foul
in the process. Green's form in playing point guard
for the 36ers in 1985 saw him selected to his second All NBL First team.
Green and the 36ers continued to dominate the NBL in 1986, going 15-0 at home at the Apollo Stadium
and finishing the season with a 24-2 record. The team, known as "The Invincibles" again faced Brisbane this time in a best of three Grand Final series. After splitting the first two games, Adelaide won their first and Al Green won his last NBL championship with a 113-91 win at home. Green averaged 15 points over the three game series. His scoring prowess seen from 1981-1984 was slowed by Ken Cole making him the 36ers point guard where he changed his game slightly and actually led the team in assists per game rather than just in points.
Al Green continued to play for the 36ers until the end of the 1990 NBL season. In that time the team never made another Grand Final but finished the 1987 and 1988 regular seasons in first place. Following the 1990 season, and after 164 games for the 36ers, Al Green wasn't re-signed by the club and he found a new home with the Newcastle Falcons. He would play three seasons with the Falcons (1991–1993) before retiring from the NBL at the age of 36.
although he again decided his true home was on the basketball court and he went on to help the 36ers to their 1986 NBL Championship instead of pursuing a place on the Australian Team
for Edinburgh
.
, as well as the current coach of the Westminster School
open A's and B's.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player originally from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who played his career in the Australian National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
from 1981 until his retirement in at the end of 1993.
School/College career
Born and bred in the South BronxSouth Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, Al Green and grew up playing basketball with future NBA All-Star player Bernard King
Bernard King
Bernard King is a retired American professional basketball player at the small forward position in the NBA...
. He attended Maine Central HS following which he attended Arizona Western Junior College. He then switched schools and went to North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
where he was a member of the NC State Wolfpack
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Wolfpack currently competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, of which it was a founding member....
before again moving one last time to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
to play for the LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers basketball
The Louisiana State Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The team is currently coached by Trent Johnson and has enjoyed recent success, including a Final Four run in the 2005–2006 season. Past coaches include John Brady, Press...
. During his college career for NC State and LSU Green would come up against the likes of future NBA Hall of Fame players Moses Malone
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association...
and Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
.
1979 NFL Draft
While attending Louisiana State, Al Green was selected as draft pick #269 in the 1979 NFL Draft1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979...
as a Defensive Back by the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, despite never having played football. The choice was made primarily on Green's speed and jumping ability. Green and his agent spoke to the Chargers but despite the money he was being offered by the Chargers he decided that he wanted to continue playing basketball.
Professional career
Green, a 6'2" (189 cm) Guard, moved to Australia in the early 1980s and settled in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
where he lives to this day (2011). He signed to play for the West Adelaide Bearcats
West Adelaide Bearcats
The West Adelaide Bearcats are a semi-professional basketball team competing in the Australian Basketball Association.-NBL:The West Adelaide Bearcats was a foundation club in the NBL which merged with the Adelaide 36ers in 1985. Founded in 1946, it won the NBL championship 80–74 against the Geelong...
in the NBL from the 1981 season
1981 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 1981.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 132 games were played, 22 for each team.-Finals:...
and made an immediate impact. In his first season he helped the Bearcats to a third place finish and was selected to his first All NBL First Team
NBL (Australia) All NBL teams
-NBL First Teams:* 1980 Cal Stamp, Danny Morseu, Brian Banks, Herb McEachin, Ian Davies and Ken Richardson* 1981 Rocky Smith, Danny Morseu, Al Green, David Nelson and Owen Wells* 1982 George Morrow, James Crawford, Leroy Loggins, Phil Smyth and Larry Sengstock...
.
The 1982 NBL season
1982 NBL Season
The 1982 National Basketball League was the fourth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested in the league from 6 states and 1 territory across Australia...
saw Green continue with the Bearcats who made the NBL Grand Final against the Geelong Supercats
Geelong Supercats
The Geelong Supercats are an Australian basketball team, based in the Victorian City of Geelong, that currently plays in the Australian Basketball Association and previously played in the National Basketball League.-NBL History:...
. West Adelaide would won their only NBL championship winning 80-74 at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium
Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium
The Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium is an indoor basketball stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and was the original home of the Newcastle Falcons of the National Basketball League from the origin of the league in 1979 until they moved to the newly built Newcastle Entertainment...
. Green had a supreme season in his second year in Australia and was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player
NBL (Australia) Most Valuable Player
At the conclusion of each NBL game, both coaches award votes to the best players from that game. Each coach has 10 votes to allocate, with no more than 5 to be awarded to one player by each coach....
in 1982 but controversially was left out of the All NBL First team. It was the first of so far three times that the league MVP has not been selected in the All First team (Owen Wells
Owen Wells (basketball)
Owen Wells was a basketball player for the Houston Rockets. A 6'7" forward, he attended the University of Detroit Mercy and went to English High School in Boston, Massachusetts...
in 1983 and Joe Hurst in 1988 being the others).
Green had established himself as the premier guard in the NBL and in 1984 set scoring records in the league that still stand. He scored a league record 71 points in a game against the Frankston Bears shooting 26 from 44. He also scored 60 points and 59 points in other games through the 1984 season on his way to a league leading 39.5 points per game in 21 games played despite the Bearcats finishing 11-13 for the year. His 39.5 points per game in 1984 is the second highest average ever in an NBL season, beaten only by Andrew Gaze
Andrew Gaze
Andrew Barry Casson Gaze is Australia's best known basketball player, and one of its most successful. He is considered as the greatest player in the history of the NBL....
of the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...
in 1987 who averaged 44.1 points.
In 1985 West Adelaide pulled out of the NBL and some players from the Bearcats, including Al Green and former Aussie Boomer Ray Wood, joined the Adelaide 36ers
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers are Adelaide's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League in 1982. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers and second behind the Perth Wildcats as the most...
as Adelaide's only team in the NBL. The 36ers, coached by the Bearcats 1984 coach Ken Cole, included players such as Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce, team captain Peter "Pa" Ali and import players in 6'9" (206 cm) centre
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
Bill Jones and rebounding sensation Mark Davis
Mark Davis (NBL)
Mark Davis is a naturalised Australian former basketball player who played from 1985 to 2001 with the National Basketball League's Adelaide 36ers, gaining the nickname of "Chairman of the Boards" for his record breaking rebounding achievements.-Professional career:Davis was signed by then Adelaide...
, finished the regular season second on the ladder and after a record 151-103 win over Newcastle in the Semi-Final were into the NBL Grand Final where they faced the Brisbane Bullets
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...
on the Bullets home court
Chandler Arena
The Chandler Arena is a Brisbane sport venue, located in the suburb of Chandler. It has seating capacity for 2,700, and hosts netball, basketball, indoor soccer, badminton and volleyball....
. Unfortunately for Adelaide, Al Green was held to 15 points and fouled out of the game as the Bullets won 120-95. As he was fouled out, Green, who had always been an emotional player, reacted to a taunt from Bullets player Larry Sengstock
Larry Sengstock
Larry Sengstock is a retired Australian basketball player and the current CEO of Basketball Australia and NBL....
and threw the ball at Sengstock's head, giving away a tech foul
Technical foul
In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct...
in the process. Green's form in playing point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
for the 36ers in 1985 saw him selected to his second All NBL First team.
Green and the 36ers continued to dominate the NBL in 1986, going 15-0 at home at the Apollo Stadium
Apollo Stadium
Apollo Stadium was an indoor arena located at 41 Kingston Avenue, Richmond in the Adelaide Metropolitan Area, South Australia...
and finishing the season with a 24-2 record. The team, known as "The Invincibles" again faced Brisbane this time in a best of three Grand Final series. After splitting the first two games, Adelaide won their first and Al Green won his last NBL championship with a 113-91 win at home. Green averaged 15 points over the three game series. His scoring prowess seen from 1981-1984 was slowed by Ken Cole making him the 36ers point guard where he changed his game slightly and actually led the team in assists per game rather than just in points.
Al Green continued to play for the 36ers until the end of the 1990 NBL season. In that time the team never made another Grand Final but finished the 1987 and 1988 regular seasons in first place. Following the 1990 season, and after 164 games for the 36ers, Al Green wasn't re-signed by the club and he found a new home with the Newcastle Falcons. He would play three seasons with the Falcons (1991–1993) before retiring from the NBL at the age of 36.
Athletics
Al Green wasn't only a professional basketball player. He was also a professional runner who won Adelaide's famous Bay Sheffied sprint race held over 120 metres in both 1983 and 1984. After he became a naturalised Australian in 1985 Green announced his retirement from professional running with the intention of running for Australia at the 1986 Commonwealth Games1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...
although he again decided his true home was on the basketball court and he went on to help the 36ers to their 1986 NBL Championship instead of pursuing a place on the Australian Team
Australia at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Australia at the 1986 Commonwealth Games was abbreviated AUS. This was their thirteenth of 13 Commonwealth Games having participated in all Games meets up to these Games.-External links:*...
for Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Current
Al Green is currently the coach of the Woodville Warriors senior mens team in the Central Australian Basketball LeagueCentral Australian Basketball League
The Central Australian Basketball League is the South Australian conference of the Australian Basketball Association . The Central ABL is used as a development league for the Adelaide teams competing in the NBL and the Women's National Basketball League.The winner of the CABL plays off against the...
, as well as the current coach of the Westminster School
Westminster School, Adelaide
Westminster School is an independent, Uniting Church, Early Learning to Year 12, coeducational, day and boarding school located at Marion, South Australia, 12 km south of Adelaide. Founded as a Methodist day and boarding school for boys, the school was opened by the Prime Minister Robert...
open A's and B's.
Honour roll
| NBL career: | 1981–1993 |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 3 (1982, 1985, 1986) |
| NBL Championships: | 2 (1982, 1986) |
| NBL Most Valuable Player: | 1982 |
| All-NBL First Team: | 2 (1981, 1985) |